Bridgman Wines

Brian Carter was a microbiology major at Oregon State University in the late 1970s. A wine appreciation class seemed like an interesting elective, and that class spurred him to visit the local wineries. His interest soon became his calling, and today Brian Carter is one of the most respected winemakers in Washington State.

Brian is co-owner of Bridgman Winery with his partner Harry Aldaheff, one of the country’s best wine retailers. They chose the Yakima Valley, an area known for its continental climate with warm days that ripen the fruit and cool nights that maintain acid balance. The winery is named Bridgman in honor of the man who first brought grapes to the Yakima Valley.

Bridgman wines include Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot and small lots of Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Viognier. It seems they have won every award imaginable. In 1997 alone, wines made by Brian Carter won 200 gold, silver and bronze alone, not to mention a number of Best in Class, Consumer’s Choice, Best of Show, Highest Scoring and Grand Champion designations. That was a fairly typical year in a 25-year career that has been filled with rare achievements in the wine industry.

After graduating from Oregon State in 1978, Brian headed for UC Davis where he got a Master’s degree in oenology. In his first position making fruit wines at Paul Thomas Winery, he developed a process (now an industry standard) for keeping solids from precipitating in fruit wines. Brian expanded into grape wines, the decision quickly paid off when the Paul Thomas 1983 Cabernet Sauvignon was chosen to compete in New York City against top wines from the U.S. and Bordeaux. Carter’s wine outscored most of those entered, including first growth Chateau Lafitte Rothschild.

In another career highpoint, Brian Carter was recognized as “winemaker of the year” by “Washington” magazine, and he is the only winemaker to win this award twice. In 1996 Brian received the state’s highest honor for contributions to the winemaking industry, the Alec Bayless Award. But his greatest legacy may be the increased recognition of Washington State wines during his 25 years in the industry.

When Brian came to Washington State in 1980, the region had only 16 wineries and wine lovers knew little about Washington State wines. Now, these wines are recognized everywhere, thanks to respected winemakers like Brian Carter of Bridgman Winery.